At the end of September, the world received the sad news of the death of bassist and founding member of VIPER , Pit Passarell .
Hospitalized after falling ill during a band concert, the musician was suffering from pancreatic cancer.
Dani Matos , brother of Andre Matos , was responsible for taking on the difficult task of playing bass in the band.
In an exclusive interview with Wikimetal , he discusses this new phase of his career in a very emotional conversation. Check out the full interview.
Wikimetal: How did the invitation from VIPER for you to join the band come about?
Dani Matos: Man, it came from a sad situation, right? They've always been very good friends, partners, my whole life. Since I was, I don't know, seven years old. And with the album Timeless (2023), they invited me to record two songs. And then I'd been making some guest appearances at the shows, playing the songs I recorded, and some others. Every now and then I'd go there and play some music with them. I did "Cry From The Edge," I did "Spreading Soul." And the day Pit got sick, I even went there to play "Moonlight" with them. And I had even taken my son to see a VIPER show that he had never seen. And then, since Pit was hospitalized, Felipe [ Machado ] called me to say, "Man, I need to fulfill some shows. Is it okay if you hold them for us?"
I said, “Of course, man.” I would never, ever refuse an invitation from such a fraternal group of people who helped me so much, who were always such great partners. Unfortunately, the worst happened and Pit passed away. Since I already had the repertoire, I had already performed, and I ended up doing both the show in Catanduva and the show in Colombia, they decided to invite me to stay in the band. We always had a great relationship, and it came about because, unfortunately, after Pit got sick, I held on for them, right? I think they can answer that better than I can, how their idea came about, because they came to me, invited me right then and there, I wasn't even expecting it at the time. And I accepted with the greatest pleasure in the world, I am very grateful to VIPER, I owe a lot to VIPER.
WM: What was it like when they called you?
DM: It was very emotional, I think for everyone. They said beautiful words of trust, of family, of friendship. And then they gave me a group hug and sang “olê, olê, olê, Dani, Dani”. It was really moving. I was very touched and very happy with this impressive welcome. I honestly didn't expect so much. I didn't expect so much, I was there helping like one friend helps another. And I've always filled in for many bass players in various bands of different styles, and this was just another filling-in job. And, man, I was very happy. I didn't expect it, it was very beautiful. Very beautiful.
WM: I imagine it must have been very emotional when you did that first show with VIPER after Pit's death. Can you describe what it was like, what you felt?
DM: It was very difficult, because first of all I had less than a week to learn the songs and we didn't even have time to rehearse properly. And, damn, being there, Pit not being there, everyone's heart was heavy, everyone was holding back tears, because at that first show he was hospitalized, we didn't realize the seriousness of the situation. So we were very focused on him, worried about him, you know? Trying to do our best so that he would come back and that everything would be okay when he returned. But we were very… [with] our hearts in our mouths there, in every sense, not just for Pit, but I was on that stage, I didn't just see Pit, I saw André [Matos] there with us too, and the emotion was very strong, very strong indeed, very strong. I don't even know what words to describe it, you know?
WM: And a big VIPER show is already scheduled for next year at Bangers Open Air . What are your expectations for this show?
DM: I was there this year, when it was still called Summer Breeze, and I was impressed by the structure, the organization, the crowd—it was amazing how everyone came together, people from all over Brazil going there. I get really excited to be able to play there because it's a unique energy, you know? It's a unique energy. I also really like smaller shows because we're closer to the audience; there isn't that huge distance between the stage and the crowd.
But wow, playing with all those people, seeing that crowd dancing along with us there, it's going to be amazing, it's going to be amazing. Colombia was already incredible, because it was a festival for more than 5,000 people, and I went on stage, I got goosebumps all over just being able to be with them, but they are really great people, they were great friends and helped me a lot, they were always by my side helping me, so I feel very welcomed by them and I hope to give my best, I hope to always be as prepared as possible to fulfill this honor.
WM: And to wrap things up, what are your expectations for this new chapter in your life?
DM: Look, expectations are high, because I don't even know exactly what's going to happen, since everything just turned into this, but what I can say is that I won't lack the effort to always be there, playing along and giving my best to everyone. I haven't even talked about what plans they have or anything like that. And I'm here to be another brother in the Viper family, as I always have been, even when I wasn't in the band. And now, having the chance to reciprocate all of this is an indescribable pleasure for me. So, you can be sure that I will always do my best. At the very least, my absolute best.
READ ALSO: VIPER: New single “Freedom of Speech” features Dani Matos, brother of Andre Matos
